With all of the gyms and other fitness facilities closed during the coronavirus pandemic, we all need to find other ways to keep healthy and fit while stuck at home. You may not have the same weights or machines that your gym has, but you can do a lot more at your home than you think. Some is obvious while others just need a bit of imagination.
Exercises like pushups, squats, lunges, crunches, planks, and triceps dips on stairs are no-brainers. However, each of these has variations that you can perform to increase your intensity. Some examples are: for pushups you can keep your hands closer together or further apart. For squats, change up the angles by trying sumo squats or increase the intensity with jump squats. With lunges, try changing it up with static lunges, walking lunges, or alternate jump lunges. Regular planks and side planks are great for the core as are bicycle kicks, reverse crunches, or v-sits. As for the dips, the straighter you place your legs the more body weight you are lifting, thus making it more intense.
Because many people don’t own any cardio machines, there are plenty of other ways to perform cardio exercises in the comfort of your home. While going for a walk or jog outdoors is great, it’s not always an option. Here are some exercises that can be done in circuit form or as an individual. Mountain climbers, burpees, ice skaters, jumping rope, shadow boxing, walking or running up your stairs multiple times are all great alternatives to perform for a specific amount of time. Another great way to increase your cardiovascular health, if you are not one to do the endurance style of workouts, is to perform your strength related exercises in a circuit to maintain an elevated heart rate.
And while at home, we can all still improve our overall fitness health using the F.I.T.T. (frequency, intensity, type, time) principle. We can exercise more often during the week (no more than 2 or 3 consecutive days in a row without a rest day). We can increase how hard we exercise by increasing our heart rate, the amount of repetitions or sets and we can add more exercises to a circuit. In terms of time, you can increase how long your workout lasts (up to 60 minutes) or you can minimize the rest time between sets. As for type of exercise, it’s important to change up your routine and exercises so you reduce boredom by giving your body variability, and gradually overloading your body with more reps, sets, and volume.
Regardless of your house or home, you can still get a great workout. Don’t let your lack of equipment stop you from maintaining or increasing your fitness level. Whether it’s using just your body weight or items around your house the most important thing is to keep moving and keep pushing your limits.